Distressing To See Women Dealing With Unwanted Pregnancies Alone: Bombay High Court Mulls Over Mechanism To Ensure Accountability Of Partners

The Bombay High Court last week expressed 'disturbance' over the predicament of young women, who are 'compelled' to move the court to get their 'unwanted' pregnancies terminated medically and in all this, the court said it is only the women who 'suffer' and not their 'partners.'

Therefore, to provide 'succour' to such women, the division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Dr Neela Gokhale has decided to determine some mechanism to facilitate involvement, accountability and participation of the man or the partner of such women, in these 'testing times.'

"We find the predicament of young women finding themselves in these situations disturbing...It is distressing to see the victim being left alone to fend for herself while understanding the nuances of the pregnancy itself, accepting the anatomical changes brought about by the pregnancy, the dilemma of disclosing the fact to her parents and the partner leading to the pregnancy advancing beyond 24 weeks and thereby compelling her to approach the Court for permission to terminate the pregnancy, facing a Medical Board alone and finally undergoing the procedure of either termination or the delivery all by herself," the bench said in its September 5 order.

In the present order, the judges said that they were 'hopeful' that the Government would address this complexity by devising proactive measures and putting in place an effective mechanism to provide much-needed succour to the women victims.

"We now intend to ensure that, the victims are not left without support to face the challenges presented by such pregnancies. We thus deem it appropriate to appoint amicus curiae to assist the Court in its endeavor to determine a suitable mechanism so as to facilitate involvement, accountability and participation of the partner in these testing times of the women," the judges underscored.

The bench, therefore, requested Dr Abhinav Chandrachud to assist it in this regard. The judges granted him two weeks to submit his written notes on the matter and adjourned the hearing till September 20.

Background:

The above order came to be passed while disposing of a minor rape victim's plea to abort her 26-weeks pregnancy. It was later on learnt that the rape case was filed after the victim was diagnosed to be 22 weeks pregnant on a routine check-up for fever.

The medical board, which was constituted by the bench after the victim filed her plea to abort the child, noted that the pregnancy was begotten from a neighbourhood 22-year-old boy, with whom the girl had a 'relationship' and intended to 'marry and settle' with.

On the medical board's opinion against abortion at such an advanced stage, the girl and her mother agreed to continue with the delivery.

Appearance: 

Legal-Aid Counsel Snehal Chaudhari was appointed for the Petitioner.

Additional Government Pleader Monali Thakur represented the State.

Case Title: Miss XYZ vs State of Maharashtra (Civil Writ Petition 12147 of 2024)

Click Here To Read/Download The Order